Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts

Wednesday 11 October 2023

SSS - Session for Teachers - Language and Social Science



IITE organised - Training Session for Sainik School Teachers [Language and Social Science]

The steps for your project work

 1. Topic Selection:

   - Identify the subject or area for which you want to create a lesson plan and educational content.

 2. Content Creation:

   - Prompt ChatGPT to generate content for the selected topic. This content can include text, explanations, examples, and illustrations.

3. Worksheet Preparation:

   - Prompt ChatGPT to create a worksheet with a variety of question types, such as Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs), Cloze tests, Assertion-Reason questions, and reading comprehension exercises related to the chosen topic.

 4. Video Lesson Script:

   - Instruct ChatGPT to draft a script for your video lesson. This script should outline the content that will be covered in the video, including any visuals or demonstrations.

 5. Video Production:

   - Shoot the video based on the script. Ensure that you have appropriate equipment, lighting, and sound quality.

   - Edit the video to enhance its quality, add graphics, and make any necessary corrections.

 6. YouTube Upload:

   - Create a YouTube channel if you do not already have one.

   - Upload the edited video to your YouTube channel with an engaging title, description, and relevant tags.

 7. Lesson Plan Completion (Option 1):

   - Visit the website ed.ted.com.

   - Sign up for an account if you do not have one.

   - Find your uploaded video on ed.ted.com.

   - Use the platform's tools to create a comprehensive lesson plan around your video, including learning objectives, discussion questions, and additional resources.

 8. Online Test/Quiz Creation (Option 2):

   - Create a Google Form for conducting an online test or quiz related to the topic.

   - Add questions from the worksheet created earlier to the Google Form.

   - Set up the form to collect responses and automatically grade the quiz.

 9. Share the lesson plan through blog

- Prepare a blog

- Give link of the lesson plan/s

 By following these steps, you will have successfully created educational content, a video lesson, and the option to engage learners either through a comprehensive lesson plan on ed.ted.com or an online quiz using Google Forms.

Creating a video lesson based on the provided grammar worksheet can be a great way to engage your students. Here's a script that you can use to shoot your video lesson:

---

Title: Mastering English Grammar - Video Lesson

Opening Shot: Introduction

[You on camera, welcoming the viewers with enthusiasm]

Host: "Hello, everyone! Welcome to today's video lesson, where we're going to dive into the fascinating world of English grammar. Whether you're a student, a teacher, or just someone looking to brush up on their grammar skills, this video is for you."

[Transition to Part A: Multiple Choice Questions]

Part A: Multiple Choice Questions

[On-screen text displays the question with options]

Host: "Let's start with some Multiple Choice Questions to test your knowledge of the different parts of speech. Feel free to pause the video and think about your answers before we reveal the correct choices."

[As each question is displayed, the host reads it aloud]

Q1: "Which of the following is a pronoun?"
   A. Run
   B. Cat
   C. He
   D. Quickly

Q2: "What is the verb in the sentence: 'She sang a beautiful song'?"
   A. She
   B. Sang
   C. Beautiful
   D. Song

Q3: "Identify the adverb in the sentence: 'He spoke softly.'"
   A. He
   B. Spoke
   C. Softly
   D. Spoke softly

Q4: "Which word is an adjective in the sentence: 'The tall, green tree swayed in the wind'?"
   A. The
   B. Tall
   C. Tree
   D. Swayed

Q5: "In the sentence, 'John and Jane went to the market,' what part of speech is 'and'?"
   A. Noun
   B. Verb
   C. Pronoun
   D. Conjunction

[Transition to Part B: Assert-Reason Questions]

Part B: Assert-Reason Questions

[On-screen text displays the assert-reason questions]

Host: "Now, let's move on to some Assert-Reason questions. For each of these, I'll present you with an assertion and a reason. You need to determine whether the reason correctly explains the assertion or not."

[As each question is displayed, the host reads it aloud]

Q6: "Assertion: An adverb describes how an action is performed.
   Reason: Adverbs modify nouns and pronouns."

Q7: "Assertion: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
   Reason: Nouns are always followed by adjectives."

[Transition to Part C: Close Test]

Part C: Close Test

[On-screen text displays the sentences with blanks]

Host: "Lastly, we'll wrap up with a Close Test. You'll need to fill in the blanks with the appropriate words to complete the sentences. Don't worry; we'll go over the correct answers together."

[As each sentence is displayed, the host reads it aloud]

Q8: "I enjoy _______ books in my free time."

Q9: "The _______ dog barked loudly at the mailman."

Q10: "She sings _______ in the school choir."

Q11: "The teacher _______ explained the complex math problem."

Q12: "He was _______ excited to receive the award."

[Closing Segment]

Host: "That concludes our video lesson on English grammar. I hope you found it helpful in understanding the various parts of speech, testing your knowledge, and practicing with the Close Test. If you have any questions or want to discuss any of the answers, please feel free to leave a comment below. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more educational content."

[Closing shot of the host, waving goodbye]

Host: "Thank you for joining us today. Happy learning!"

---

Feel free to customize and elaborate on the script as needed. Adding visuals, explanations, and examples can make the video lesson even more engaging and informative for your students.

Aligning the sample worksheet and video script with Bloom's Taxonomy will help ensure that your lesson addresses various cognitive skills. Here are the objectives and learning outcomes based on Bloom's Taxonomy:


Worksheet and Video Lesson Objectives:

1. Knowledge (Remembering):
   - Recognize and identify the different parts of speech.
   - Recall the definitions and roles of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and conjunctions.

2. Comprehension (Understanding):
   - Understand the function of adverbs and adjectives in sentences.
   - Interpret and differentiate between various parts of speech.
   - Explain the role of conjunctions in connecting words, phrases, and clauses.

3. Application (Applying):
   - Apply knowledge of grammar rules to solve multiple-choice questions.
   - Utilize assert-reason questions to demonstrate a deeper understanding of grammar concepts.
   - Complete the Close Test with appropriate words to construct grammatically correct sentences.

4. Analysis (Analyzing):
   - Analyze sentences to determine the correct part of speech for individual words.
   - Evaluate whether the provided reasons in assert-reason questions correctly explain the assertions.

5. Synthesis (Creating):
   - Construct well-formed sentences that incorporate different parts of speech.
   - Combine grammar knowledge to express ideas clearly and effectively in both multiple-choice and Close Test questions.

6. Evaluation (Evaluating):
   - Assess your own understanding of English grammar by checking your answers against the correct solutions.
   - Review and critique your performance on assert-reason questions.

Learning Outcome:

Upon completing this worksheet and video lesson, students will be able to:

- Recognize and correctly identify the different parts of speech in sentences.
- Understand the roles and functions of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and conjunctions in context.
- Apply their grammar knowledge to solve multiple-choice questions, assert-reason questions, and complete close test exercises accurately.
- Analyze sentences to determine the appropriate part of speech for each word.
- Construct grammatically sound sentences and articulate explanations for their choices.
- Evaluate their own grammar comprehension and make improvements based on self-assessment.

By aligning your objectives and learning outcomes with Bloom's Taxonomy, you ensure that your worksheet and video lesson cover a range of cognitive skills, promoting a deeper understanding of English grammar among your students.

Sunday 27 August 2023

Gender and Language

Gender and Language: Challenging Stereotypes and Fostering Inclusion

Dilip Barad



Introduction

Language is a powerful tool that not only reflects our thoughts but also shapes them. It carries the potential to reinforce or challenge societal norms, including those related to gender. In the pursuit of equality and justice, both UNESCO and the Supreme Court of India recognize the crucial role of language in combating gender stereotypes. UNESCO's 1999 Guidelines on Gender-Neutral Language and the Supreme Court of India's 2023 Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes provide valuable insights into reshaping our language to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

UNESCO's Guidelines on Gender-Neutral Language

UNESCO's commitment to justice and non-discrimination in education is evident in its call to transform behavior and attitudes that perpetuate the social exclusion of women. One of the fundamental aspects addressed by UNESCO is the use of gender-neutral language. The organization acknowledges that language is not merely a reflection of our thoughts but also influences them. When language perpetuates the assumption of male superiority, it becomes imperative to adapt our language as our ideas evolve. Ambiguous language that defaults to male imagery or perpetuates stereotypes can inadvertently contribute to bias, discrimination, and demeaning perceptions. By urging individuals to be more mindful of their language choices, UNESCO emphasizes the importance of precision and sensitivity in communication.

The Supreme Court of India's Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes

The Supreme Court of India's 2023 Handbook serves as a beacon for the legal community, specifically judges, in challenging harmful gender stereotypes. It recognizes that stereotypes often find their way into our thoughts and expressions due to societal conditioning. While acknowledging the inevitability of encountering stereotypes, the handbook stresses the significance of identifying and addressing them to foster an equal and inclusive society. In the realm of judiciary, the handbook underscores the pivotal role judges play in combating stereotypes. Relying on stereotypes in judicial decision-making distorts the objective application of the law, perpetuating discrimination and exclusion.

The handbook takes a three-pronged approach to address gender stereotypes:

Language Transformation: The handbook provides guidance on identifying language that reinforces stereotypes and offers alternative words and phrases that promote gender neutrality. By consciously choosing words that encompass all genders, the judiciary can contribute to dismantling stereotypes deeply ingrained in language.

Challenging Reasoning Patterns: The handbook sheds light on common reasoning patterns rooted in gender stereotypes, particularly concerning women, and explains why they are flawed. This empowers judges to critically assess their judgments and decisions, ensuring they are free from the influence of prejudiced notions.

Precedents and Rejecting Stereotypes: The handbook highlights binding decisions by the Supreme Court of India that have explicitly rejected gender stereotypes. Judges can draw from these cases to counter stereotypes in their decisions and writings, thereby contributing to a more impartial application of the law.

Conclusion

Language shapes our perceptions and attitudes, and its power can be harnessed to dismantle harmful gender stereotypes. The combined efforts of organizations like UNESCO and the judiciary, as exemplified by the Supreme Court of India's handbook, underscore the importance of language as a catalyst for change. By choosing words thoughtfully, challenging biased reasoning, and drawing from legal precedents, we can collectively pave the way for a more equitable, inclusive, and compassionate society where gender-neutral language reflects and reinforces the principles of justice and equality.

References:


Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (2003). Language and Gender. Cambridge University Press.


Hyde, J. S. (2005). The Gender Similarities Hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581-592.

Lakoff, R. T. (1975). Language and Woman's Place. Language in Society, 2(1), 45-80.


Shaw, S. (2020). Women, Language and Politics. India: Cambridge University Press.

Spender, D. (1980). Man Made Language. Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Supreme Court of India. (2023). Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes. https://www.supremecourt.gov.in/pdf/gender-stereotype-handbook.pdf.

UNESCO. (1999). Guidelines on Gender-Neutral Language. http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/GENDER_E.PDF.


Wednesday 19 February 2020

Teaching English Language through Literature - Teacher Resources

Teaching Language and Literature

Teacher Resources: The Teaching of Language through Literature

Above topics are taken from:
Literature and Language Teaching: A guide for teachers and trainers 
- by Gillian Lazar (1993, CUP)

Handouts - by Dr. Atanu Bhattacharya

Teaching Literature

Why teach literature for language classroom?


Friday 3 August 2018

Mobile Learning - Improve English Language Skills

Mobile Learning

There is no need to define Mobile Learning. Even the kids in every nook and corner of the world know it very well. If you still have a question, What is Mobile Learning?

Mobile phones are so smartly designed and in the continuous process of improving its smartness that it can be a very easy and handy device to learn anything, anytime, anywhere. In a real sense, smart mobile phones are breaking the barriers of 'time and space'. Such devices make us realise the truth of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. Mobile Learning is one of the world flatteners .

Mobile Learning - English Language Skills

With the fourth generation advancements in technology enabled language laboratories, it is no longer a secret that all skills (Listening, Speaking, Writing and Reading) can easily be mastered through mobile devices like Phones or Laptops or Tablets or Phablets. With the advancement is Artificial Intelligence and inventions of VCD (Voice Command Devices), it is increasingly becoming easy to learn and master language skills with the help of smart mobile devices. Amazon Dot and Google Home are amazing Voice Command Devices which can be useful in an unbelievable way to improve language skills like Speaking and Listening.
All the mobile applications meant of communication are useful for improvement of all four basic language skills.

Best Mobile Apps for English Language Learning

Even though all communication apps can be used by teachers to teach language skills, there is always a need for self-learning mobile applications. In a way, there is nothing wrong in such demands. Technology and its artificial intelligence has to work on its own to make learners independent from the teacher.
Here are a few links which may help learners to make their own choices for the mobile app which may best suite their need:

Tuesday 21 April 2015

C for Conditioning: Language & Mind

Brain pushes other organs on periphery because it has Mind which has Language

"C" for Conditioning: The conditioning of Mind by Language

(It is intended to blog small write-ups on Language & Mind in English alphabetical order. Here is with 'C'.)

The camera is an aspect of technology which does not allow us to have complete view of reality. The frame captured by camera leaves out or blacks out several things surrounding the focus of the lens.
Thus, the visual image or moving picture has the limitation. It does not or rather let us say 'can not' view reality from all possible perspectives and thus can not show us the real picture of the event / world.
It's not only with Media, it is with WORDS / Language also. Media uses this power of Language

It's not only with Media, it is with WORDS / Language also. Media uses this power of Language

It is similar to candle / lamp (Deepak). The fire at the wick of candle or lamp (Deepak) 'seems' to brighten the darkness. It gives us an illusion of reality. It makes us believe that we can 'see' things because its light brightens the darkness. But, in reality, it blinds us with its dazzle. Apart from the darkness kept under and around its light, it does not allow us to perceive the reality as our eyes get dazzled in the glare of the light.

Isn't this true about 'words'?
Aren't words in the language, keeps us away from the reality?
It seems that the language (words) takes us towards reality, the truth. But like camera or candle, isn't it dazzling our mind?
Thus, as it is necessary to break free from the illusion of reality in the image or moving the picture or the brightened darkness, it is also necessary to break free from the illusion of words / language.
There is darkness beneath and surrounding the word. The meaning is not only what words show us. But there is something real in what word hides. Need to perceive, not what is revealed, but what is concealed. Language does not reveal, it conceals.
It may be argued that as human beings began to civilize itself, it needed to move away from nature and be cultured. Language is a part of being cultured and civilized. The cultured and civilized being requires to learn the art of concealing. Thus, the language becomes an inevitable part of human civilization.
It is essential for us to understand that language does not communicate, it conditions our mind.
And . . . if you think I am wrong, it proves that all these words used here do not communicate anything.
And  . . . if  u think its quite true, you are conditioned, to think so! These words conditioned you to believe in it.
It is truth unbearable that we can't think beyond mind. Because we think with the mind, we can't think out of the box (mind).
Rodin's Thinker
Here are some of the presentations which tries to justify this argument:



Language as Technopoly: Invisible Technologies from Dilip Barad

Do you agree that we feel, experience, see, perceive world, universe, our surrounding through language? We may counter argue, it is not so, it is rather 'expression' of what we have felt, experienced, seen or perceived through language.
But
the question is: Would it be different, had we lived with a different set of signs (words / language)?

Thursday 26 December 2013

Cleanth Brooks: The Language of Paradox (The Well Wrought Urn)

This is compiled from various web and book resources

Cleanth Brooks’s concept of Paradox and Irony and their importance in poetry as discussed in his essay “The Language of Paradox” in The Well Wrought Urn (1947).

“The language of poetry is the language of paradox” Elucidate with reference to Cleanth Brooks’s essay The Language of Paradox.




In literature, the paradox is a literary device consisting of the anomalous juxtaposition of incongruous ideas for the sake of striking exposition or unexpected insight. It functions as a method of literary composition - and analysis - which involves examining apparently contradictory statements and drawing conclusions either to reconcile them or to explain their presence.
Cleanth Brooks, an active member of the New Critical movement, outlines the use of reading poems through paradox as a method of critical interpretation. Paradox in poetry means that tension at the surface of a verse can lead to apparent contradictions and hypocrisies. His seminal essay, "The Language of Paradox," lays out Brooks' argument for the centrality of paradox by demonstrating that paradox is “the language appropriate and inevitable to poetry." The argument is based on the contention that referential language is too vague for the specific message a poet expresses; he must “make up his language as he goes." This, Brooks argues, is because words are mutable and meaning shifts when words are placed in relation to one another.
In this essay ("The Language of Paradox,"), Cleanth Brooks emphasizes how the language of poetry is different from that of the sciences, claiming that he is interested in our seeing that the paradoxes spring from the very nature of the poet's language: “it is a language in which the connotations play as great a part as the denotations. And I do not mean that the connotations are important as supplying some sort of frill or trimming, something external to the real matter in hand. I mean that the poet does not use a notation at all--as a scientist may properly be said to do so. The poet, within limits, has to make up his language as he goes.”
In this passage, Brooks stresses that poetic language is inherently different from scientific language because the poet constructs his language as he goes and defines his own rules. The poet, then, has control over language, and must take an active role in the shaping of what literature means. The poet, then, is not limited to the denotations of words, but, instead,  revel in the possible connotations of words. The individual poet is given a great deal of power, then, in the process of knowledge making and the reader is isolated from the production of meaning.
Paradox:
In the writing of poems, paradox is used as a method by which unlikely comparisons can be drawn and meaning can be extracted from poems both straightforward and enigmatic.
Brooks points to William Wordsworth's poem “It is a beauteous evening, calm and free.” He begins by outlining the initial and surface conflict, which is that the speaker is filled with worship, while his female companion does not seem to be. The paradox, discovered by the poem’s end, is that the girl is more full of worship than the speaker precisely because she is always consumed with sympathy for nature and not - as is the speaker - in tune with nature while immersed in it.
In his reading of Wordsworth's poem, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge,” Brooks contends that the poem offers paradox not in its details, but in the situation which the speaker creates. Though London is a man-made marvel, and in many respects in opposition to nature, the speaker does not view London as a mechanical and artificial landscape but as a landscape comprised entirely of nature. Since London was created by man, and man is a part of nature, London is thus too a part of nature. It is this reason that gives the speaker the opportunity to remark upon the beauty of London as he would a natural phenomenon, and, as Brooks points out, can call the houses “sleeping” rather than “dead,” because they too are vivified with the natural spark of life, granted to them by the men that built them.
Brooks ends his essay with a reading of John Donne’s poem "The Canonization," which uses a paradox as its underlying metaphor. Using a charged religious term to describe the speaker’s physical love as saintly, Donne effectively argues that in rejecting the material world and withdrawing to a world of each other, the two lovers are appropriate candidates for canonization. This seems to parody both love and religion, but in fact it combines them, pairing unlikely circumstances and demonstrating their resulting complex meaning. Brooks points also to secondary paradoxes in the poem: the simultaneous duality and singleness of love, and the double and contradictory meanings of “die” in Metaphysical poetry (used here as both sexual union and literal death). He contends that these several meanings are impossible to convey at the right depth and emotion in any language but that of paradox. A similar paradox is used in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” when Juliet says “For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch and palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss.”
Brooks' contemporaries in the sciences were, in the 40's and 50's, reorganizing university science curricula into codified disciplines. The study of English, however, remained less defined and it became a goal of the New Critical movement to justify literature in an age of science by separating the work from its author and reader, and by examining it as a self-sufficient artifact. In Brooks’s use of the paradox as a tool for analysis, however, he develops a logical case as a literary technique with strong emotional affect. His reading of “The Canonization” in “The Language of Paradox,” where paradox becomes central to expressing complicated ideas of sacred and secular love, provides an example of this development.

Irony

Although paradox and irony as New Critical tools for reading poetry are often conflated, they are independent poetical devices. Irony for Brooks is “the obvious warping of a statement by the context” whereas paradox is later glossed as “a special kind of qualification which involves the resolution of opposites.”
Irony functions as a presence in the text – the overriding context of the surrounding words that make up the poem. Only sentences such as 2 + 2 = 4 are free from irony; most other statements are prey to their immediate context and are altered by it (take, as an example, the following joke. "A woman walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre. The bartender gives it to her." This last statement, perfectly acceptable elsewhere, is transformed by its context in the joke to an innuendo) take their effect from it. Irony is the key to validating the poem because a test of any statement grows from the context – validating a statement demands examining the statement in the context of the poem and determining whether it is appropriate to that context.
Paradox, however, is essential to the structure and being of the poem. In The Language of Paradox (The Well Wrought Urn) Brooks shows that paradox was so essential to poetic meaning that paradox was almost identical to poetry. According to fellow New Critic Leroy Searle, Brooks’ use of paradox emphasized the indeterminate lines between form and content. “The form of the poem uniquely embodies its meaning” and the language of the poem “effects the reconciliation of opposites or contraries.” While irony functions within the poem, paradox often refers to the meaning and structure of the poem and is thus inclusive of irony. This existence of opposites or contraries and the reconciliation thereof is poetry and the meaning of the poem.

Criticism

R.S. Crane, in his essay "The Critical Monism of Cleanth Brooks," argues strongly against Brooks’ centrality of paradox. For one, Brooks believes that the very structure of poetry is paradox, and ignores the other subtleties of imagination and power that poets bring to their poems. Brooks simply believed that “’imagination’ reveals itself in the balance or reconciliation of opposite or discordant qualities.” Brooks, in leaning on the crutch of paradox, only discusses the truth which poetry can reveal, and speaks nothing about the pleasure it can give. Also, by defining poetry as uniquely having a structure of paradox, Brooks ignores the power of paradox in everyday conversation and discourse, including scientific discourse, which Brooks claimed was opposed to poetry. Crane claims that, using Brooks’ definition of poetry, the most powerful paradoxical poem in modern history is Einstein’s formula E = mc2, which is a profound paradox in that matter and energy are the same thing. The argument for the centrality of paradox (and irony) becomes a reductio ad absurdum and is therefore void (or at least ineffective) for literary analysis.